Telangana voter list: 73 lakh marked ASDS, 92 lakh to get notices in SIR
Synopsis
More than 73 lakh of Telangana's 3.38 crore registered voters have been flagged as Absent, Shifted, Dead, or Duplicate in the state's draft electoral roll — the most sweeping voter-list audit the state has seen. With 92 lakh more set to receive notices, the final roll due on 19 October could look significantly different from what exists today.
Key Takeaways
The Election Commission of India published Telangana's draft voter list on 17 August after a door-to-door SIR drive from 25 June to 10 August .
Out of 3,38,26,448 total electors, 73,39,235 have been marked ASDS — Absent, Shifted, Dead, or Duplicate.
57.46 lakh were found absent or permanently shifted; 9.22 lakh are deceased; 6.70 lakh were enrolled at multiple locations.
92 lakh voters will receive notices — 60 lakh for name/age discrepancies and 32 lakh as unmapped electors not linked to 2002 rolls.
Genuine electors can file reinstatement claims via Form-6 between 17 August and 16 September .
The final electoral roll for all 119 Assembly Constituencies will be published on 19 October .
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday, 17 August published Telangana's draft voter list following a door-to-door enumeration drive, revealing that 73,39,235 of the state's 3,38,26,448 registered electors have been marked ASDS — Absent, Shifted, Dead, or Duplicate. Separately, 92 lakh voters will be issued notices for discrepancies under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR), which ran from 25 June to 10 August.
Who the ASDS Tag Covers
Of the 73.39 lakh electors flagged ASDS, the largest share — 57.46 lakh — had permanently shifted residence or could not be located during enumeration. Election authorities identified 9.22 lakh deceased voters still on the rolls, while 6.70 lakh were found enrolled at more than one location. Where multiple registrations are detected, the name will be retained at only one place in the final roll.
The 92 Lakh Notices: Two Categories
Chief Electoral Officer C. Sudharsan Reddy told reporters that the 92 lakh notices break into two distinct groups. 60 lakh electors will receive notices for discrepancies in their names, their family members' names, or inconsistencies in age and other details. The remaining 32 lakh have been classified as unmapped — voters who could not be linked to the 2002 electoral rolls, the baseline used for verification.
Enumeration Reach and Gaps
Booth Level Officers (BLOs) successfully collected enumeration forms from 2,64,87,213 electors, representing 78.30% of the total registered base. The remaining 21.7% — the same 73.39 lakh — were either unreachable, had migrated to other states or Union Territories, no longer existed in records, failed to submit their forms by the 10 August deadline, or declined to register. The exercise was carried out by 35,985 Booth Level Officers across an equal number of polling stations, supported by 3,590 BLO Supervisors, 892 Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), 119 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), and District Election Officers from all 33 districts. Political parties also participated, with 49,018 Booth Level Agents (BLAs) appointed by recognised parties.
Claims, Objections, and the Road to October 19
Genuine electors whose names have been dropped can apply for reinstatement using Form-6, along with a prescribed declaration, during the claims and objections period running from 17 August to 16 September. Disposal of claims and objections will continue until 15 October. The final electoral roll for all 119 Assembly Constituencies is scheduled for publication on 19 October. Booth-wise lists of flagged electors are displayed at ERO and AERO offices, Gram Panchayat and Municipal notice boards, and polling stations, and are also accessible on the Chief Electoral Officer's website and respective District Election Officer websites.
Point of View
Those who cannot be linked to 2002 baseline rolls, are particularly telling: they suggest years of additions that bypassed proper verification. The claims window through 16 September is a necessary safeguard, but a six-week period to resolve 92 lakh notices is operationally ambitious. The real test of the SIR's credibility will be whether the October 19 final roll reflects genuine cleanup or simply transfers the problem to a future revision cycle.
NationPress
17 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What does ASDS mean in the Telangana voter list?
ASDS stands for Absent, Shifted, Dead, and Duplicate — four categories of electors whose names have been flagged for removal from the draft electoral roll. In Telangana's current Special Intensive Revision, 73,39,235 voters have been marked under one of these four categories.
Why are 92 lakh Telangana voters being issued notices?
The 92 lakh notices cover two groups: 60 lakh electors with discrepancies in names, family member names, or age details, and 32 lakh 'unmapped' voters who could not be linked to the 2002 electoral rolls used as the verification baseline. Receiving a notice does not automatically mean removal from the rolls.
How can a voter get their name restored if it has been dropped?
Electors whose names have been excluded can file a reinstatement claim using Form-6, accompanied by the prescribed declaration form, during the claims and objections window from 17 August to 16 September 2025. Lists of flagged voters are available at polling stations, local government offices, and on the Chief Electoral Officer's website.
When will the final Telangana electoral roll be published?
The final electoral roll for all 119 Assembly Constituencies in Telangana is scheduled for publication on 19 October. Claims and objections will be disposed of between 17 August and 15 October.
How many officials were deployed for Telangana's Special Intensive Revision?
The SIR involved 35,985 Booth Level Officers, 3,590 BLO Supervisors, 892 Assistant Electoral Registration Officers, 119 Electoral Registration Officers, and District Election Officers across all 33 districts. Recognised political parties appointed 49,018 Booth Level Agents to participate in the process.
